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I actually fell asleep with Jaden today at naptime. I vaguely remember him waking up but I kept sleeping. Then he comes in a long time later and says, "Mama you have to wake up, it's getting dark and you are wasting our time!" It was 3:30 and I was amazed because we fell asleep at 1:15.

Groggily, I told him I had been having a very bad dream. He asked me about it and I told him the story. We were at the beach and a big wave came and swept him away. He was gone. And then I found some brand new soccer shoes that Daddy had just bought him. (They were 4T which makes no sense with shoes but I left out that detail).

My little therapist says to me, "Okay this is what I do when I have a terrible night dream. I stop my mind from thinking on that part and tell a story. Let me tell you a story."

I say, "Okay."

He says, "Once upon a time, there was a big wave that came after me. And I got away!"

I was so surprised that it woke me up completely on the spot. Here I've been having bad dreams my entire childhood and adult life and not once has anyone taught me to rewrite the dream right that instant and get it out of my mind. And now my beautiful boy teaches me how to do just that.

Now who taught him this trick?

When I asked him, he said it was his old grandpa and I said "Papa taught you that?" And he said, no it was my old grandpa from a long time ago.

This is one of those times that Jeff & I wonder if we are dealing with our three-year-old who doesn't understand time yet, or a wise, old, soul who has lived a few lifetimes before this one.